Thursday, February 7, 2013

Maitland, Missouri city limits - May, 2011Home of James Boling family for a number of years

I know that I jump around a lot on this blog, writing about different families, scattered events, and random places. The truth is - I write what interests me at that moment, and that doesn't usually follow a predictable order! When I start researching, I can very easily get off on a tangent and end up many miles and several generations from where I started looking.

You may have noticed that I've already included several posts about Leona's history. For a while I wasn't certain I should include her history on a blog about her husband, but I finally realized that I can't really write about Lou's life without including Leona. I couldn't figure out where to draw the line between his story and hers - and I didn't want to start another blog!So since my interest right now is on the Bolings, let me introduce you to the family:

Leona's mother, Etta Lorene Boling (Carpenter) was one of 11 children of James Leonard Boling (1884-1942) and Ruth Elizabeth Winger (1891-1928). Eight of the children were born in Missouri, and the other three were born in Nebraska. I know very little about the Boling history, so I don't yet know what took them from Missouri to Nebraska and then back to Missouri where the two youngest children were born, but I'm trying to find out.

A granddaughter reports that James and Ruth raised a hard working and close knit family. From James' World War I Draft Registration Card, we learn that he was employed in 1918 as a carpenter and mason. His obituary states that he was "industrious" and "well liked by all with whom he came in contact."As was typical for that generation, Ruth was at home with the children - which would have been no easy task as the mother of 11! Grandma Tootie (Lorene got the nickname of Tootie from her dad) told of her mother's great cooking, but added that she couldn't bake a cake. As a result, Tootie baked all the cakes for the family - and I'll bet there were many - from the time she was eight years old.

In the stories that follow I'll share what I know about the Boling family including Ruth's early death, which necessitated a variety of living situations for the children still at home. I've been fortunate in making contact with one of Leona's Boling cousins who is helping me with names, dates, and places and hopefully some more of the family history stories.

About Me

My Motivation

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." - Malachi 4: 5-6

Group Project

Please feel free to share your memories relating to any of these posts by leaving a comment. If you have information, pictures, memorabilia, or any kind of family history you would like to have included on this blog, email me at lynnette.butler@gmail.com.